savannahchik.com » May 2012

FO: Sweet Dreams Shawl

jody — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 11:33:44 +0000

subtitled: the most beautiful thing I’ve ever knitted

This project is pure love. The pattern, the lace, the yarn, the beads, the photography.
Sweet Dreams Shawl by Boo Knits
Black Bunny Fibers Superwash Merino Classic in City of Roses
6/0 seed beads – clear, silver-lined, applied with crochet hook. Just over an ounce

I love the shape of this shawl. The crescent makes it quite wide, but not very tall. It sits comfortably on my shoulders and fully wraps around me with ease.

The beads were fun and there were only a couple rows that had a lot of beads. The rest only had 1 or 2 beads per repeat.

I knit the shawl intermittantly over a month. The bind off was the only time I complained – a 5-stitch picot bind off takes a long time. A long time. I started the bind off on Sunday and finished on Thursday night. But it was so worth it.
I also got to try out some of my new photography lessons on the shawl. I signed up for Caro Sheridan’s Craftsy class on Product Photography. I’ve only watched 5 of the lessons so far but wow – I’ve learned SO MUCH!!! I hightly recommend it to anyone who wants to improve their FO or blog photos.
Oh and I almost forgot. This is my first Cast On Mania FO. My goal is to get at least 3 done before casting on anything new. Only 2 more left to go.

Cast On Mania is still going strong

jody — Sun, 17 Jun 2012 11:38:58 +0000

I received my Go Knit pouches last week. I’m so glad I decided to order them. It’s quick to grab a project on my way out the door and the different colors make it easy to know which is which. And the snap tab allows me to hang the bag on the seat back on the train.
Plus looking at all those colors just make me happy.
I find that I mostly concentrate on a single project each week. This week it’s been the stripey socks. Those little stripes are so addicting.

I did a striped short row heel with a 6 stitch mini gusset. My jogless stripes technique has improved – you can still see evidence of the “jogless” if you look for a diagonal line along the sole of the foot – and this project has also gotten me used to working with 2 yarns. I’ve never enjoyed working with 2 active yarns but now – it’s not so bad.
I still have all the ends to weave in but I can’t stop myself from knitting the stripes. I’ll likely go back to weave in all the ends once I’m done.
Speaking of done, my goal is to finish this sock before going back to one of the other projects. I’m trying my hardest to finish three Cast On Mania projects before casting on anything else. It was touch and go when I discovered Knitscene Accessories a couple weeks back but so far I’m staying strong.
What about you? What are you craving to start?

Cast On Mania – one week, five projects, tons of fun

jody — Tue, 29 May 2012 07:06:50 +0000

I had a blast with Cast On Mania! I have some great, fun projects to show for it and I even learned a few things:

The switch to non-garment knitting was exactly what I needed. Project variety, fun yarns, different techniques – it’s all really sparked my love for knitting.
If I’m going to bring these projects with me on the train then I need more knitting bags! I ordered three new ones (orange, orchid and green) from the Loopy Ewe. Great customer service and I love that my dollars are going to a small business.
The joins in Knit Picks needles are not smooth! I never noticed it until I ran out of 2.25mm Knit Picks needles and I had to switch to Addi Turbos. Wow what a difference. I ordered a couple pairs of ChiaoGoo Red Lace needles, also from Loopy Ewe.
While not really a surprise, I confirmed how much I enjoy knitting finer gauge yarns. When left to my own devices, I cast on 4 projects in sock weight and 1 project in lace weight.

And one of the best surprises, 4 out of the 6 yarns I used are stash yarns! And I bought the two new yarns to make up for not buying anything at Maryland this year. That’s right – I came home from Maryland empty handed. I did make up for it though.
So, looking back on this week I feel like I may have hit upon something with Cast On Mania. Knowing I had 5 projects to cast on freed me to pick a few things I might not have otherwise. Over the course of the week I cast on:

3 socks, 1 shawl and 1 scarf
2 projects with beads, 1 with twisted stitches, 1 with lace and 1 with a technique I need to hone (jogless stripes)
Yarn as old as 5 years ago and a new as 3 weeks ago

I’m optimistic that I’ll be successful in finishing these projects as well. When I get bored with one I’ll always have another to fall back on.
Don’t be surprised if you see the return of Cast On Mania in a few months. After a few FOs of course.

CO Mania Day 5

jody — Mon, 28 May 2012 07:53:39 +0000

Day 5 looks like an easy one, but it took quite a few tries before I got here.
I had planned all along to make Day 5 a colorwork day. I’m not good at colorwork and I want to change that. And now that I’m focusing on non-garments it seemed like the perfect time.
I really want to knit colorwork socks – there are *so many* pretty colorwork socks. But I need to improve first.
I searched through Rav and settled on Polka Dot Fingerless Mitts. I picked two colors of Koigu because I have a lot of Koigu and I’m afraid of how it will hold up as socks.
My first color choices were too similar – you barely saw the polka dots. But have no fear, you can definitely see the polka dots in my second try – in all their hideous glory.

Um, no. No thank you. No way.
So I decided to go a completely different way and cast on for the Bias Before & After scarf in Creatively Dyed Waterfalls. I tried using this yarn for Nuvem earlier this year but I didn’t enjoy knitting the pattern. I’ve been trying to find a way to use up all 1,300 yards but then it dawned on me – why am I doing this? Pick a project I like and if I have a lot left over, stash it or sell it on Ravelry. So that’s what I’m going to do.

It’s liberating to knit and know I absolutely, positively won’t run out of yarn – even if I decide I want to make it longer. Although I’m not sure I’ll sign up for knitting even more stockinette. It’s also a bit annoying that I haven’t even gotten as far as I did with Nuvem. I’m still using up frogged yarn. I plan to fix that today.
For those of you in the US – enjoy your Memorial Day. I’m going to make sure I do – knitting, sangria and smoked pork shoulder with grilled corn on the cob.
Knitting, drinking and barbecue – can’t get more American than that

CO Mania Day 4

jody — Sun, 27 May 2012 07:31:50 +0000

Another day, another technique. This time, twisted stitches and beads.
I knew I wanted to try a beaded sock but I was unsure of the pattern. I came across Twinkling Trellis and then Snicket popped up on my friends’ activity. I combined the intersecting diamonds of Travelling Trellis with the twisted stitches of Snicket. I’m still not sure what I’m going to do for the heel but I do have an idea for the instep.

It took a couple tries to get the bead placement correct so it looks like it’s right in the center of the criss cross. I’m also using a 1mm (Size 12) crochet hook to place the beads and it splits the yarn if I’m not really careful. I need to find my slightly larger steel crochet hooks. Fortunately it’s only 9 beads every 8 rounds so it’s bareable.
And let’s just get the elephant out of the room. I do worry that beaded socks make me cross that imaginary line between obsessed and crazy-weird knitter. It probably doesn’t help that I chose Red Hat Society colors either.
I do like the look of these beads though.

CO Mania Day 3

jody — Fri, 25 May 2012 11:11:15 +0000

Up next is a pair of rainbow stripey socks!

I haven’t knit up enough for you to tell, but the yarn is Twisted Fiber Art yarn in the Roy G Biv colorway in their Kabam yarn (60% merino, 30% bamboo, 10% nylon). I split the hank in half so one sock will be ROY G and the other will be BIV. Both will be striped with the dark purple heather by Shelridge Farms.
The bamboo makes this rainbow slightly muted but it also makes it SO SOFT! It also caused the yarn to catch on the joins of my Knit Picks needles. I switched to Addi Turbos and it’s much smoother now. I occasionally catch, but not like on the Knit Picks.
I’m also trying my hand (again) at jogless stripes. I’ve yet to be successful with jogless stripes. I think this go round is better, but I’m still not quite thrilled either. I’m hoping I get better over the course of knitting these socks.

CO Mania Day 2

jody — Thu, 24 May 2012 15:37:26 +0000

Tuesday’s cast on was simpler – a new pair of vanilla socks for Paul.

I tried finding some nice hand dyed yarn but I couldn’t find anything manly enough. Trekking to the rescue.
I’m doing them toe up, using the same stitch counts as his last pair. I have one possible twist planned – I may do a flap heel. I did my first toe up heel flap earlier this year and I really liked the fit.
So that’s it for today – a plain, straightforward sock in old, reliable Trekking.
Stay tuned tomorrow though. I have a fun CO to share with you

CO Mania Day 1

jody — Wed, 23 May 2012 08:03:06 +0000

I’m on vacation this week! I vacillated about what I wanted to work on next when I decided:
It’s my vacation – I can work on whatever I want
So, starting Monday, I’m casting on a new project each day.
Monday’s cast on

Sweet Dreams by Boo Knits
Yarn: Black Bunny Fibers Superwash Merino Classic in City of Roses. I love the way the colors are coming together!
Beads: Silver-lined clear seed beads
Needles: 4mm (US#6) for the stockinette portion. I plan to go up to 4.5mm for the lace part (as per pattern).
Size: I’m doing the small because I’m concerned about running out of yarn for the medium, and frogging lace and beads will break my heart. I think there’s a good chance I’ll have quite a bit of yarn left over, but it can always be used for some Blender socks.